Representatives from six Danish parties told newspaper Politiken that they are prepared to take part in a possible trip to Taiwan.

The six parties, which encompass both the left and right wings, are the Conservatives, the Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten), the Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre), the Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti, DF), the Liberal (Venstre) party, and the new Denmark Democrats (Danmarksdemokraterne) party. 

“What Taiwan needs now is our support. We must be firm on this – Taiwan should not be isolated in the way that China wants it to be. They must not succeed in that,” Michael Aastrup Jensen, foreign affairs spokesman for the Liberal party (Venstre) told Politiken. 

A group of politicians are already planning a trip to Taiwan in the autumn, Jensen said.

The group of parties includes two close allies of the minority government – the centrist Social Liberals and the left-wing Red Green Alliance.

The foreign affairs spokesperson with the Social Liberals, Martin Lidegaard – a former foreign minister – stressed that such a trip must have a “relevant purpose”, however.

But Karsten Hønge, foreign affairs spokesperson with another left-wing ally of the government, the Socialist People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti, SF), said stirring the pot in Taiwan could cause more harm than good. 

Talk of a Danish visit comes shortly after high-profile visits to China by leading US politicians, including speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.

In response to the US visits, China has carried out a number of military exercises close to Taiwan.

A 2019 visit to Taiwan by former DF leader Pia Kjærsgaard resulted in the Chinese Embassy in Copenhagen submitting a complaint to parliament.

Speaking to Politiken, Andreas Bøje Forsby, a researcher of Chinese foreign policy at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), said a visit by Danish politicians to Taiwan would be “risky” in the current climate.